Merlin Memory Month 2017
by Mischel
Summary: A series of oneshots for #MerlinMemoryMonth on tumblr, which is a prompt fest to remember and celebrate the british tv show Merlin (BBC). Prompt Days are every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, so you can expect a new chapter then, starting Monday May 1st.
1. Prompt Day 1 - May 1st

**Hello everyone! I know I promised a Merthur AU fanfic where Merlin is an angel, but I'm still working on that. In the meantime, I decided to join the #MerlinMemoryMonth (from _(at sign)merlinmemorymonth_ on tumblr). It's a tumblr-based prompt fest to remember and celebreate this amazing show. There are going to be 13 prompt days (every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, I think), and I'll post every oneshot that I've written for this fest, according to the schedule. Today is the first prompt day - May 1st - and there were 3 paths to choose from, but I decided to combine them together. I just hope I succeeded :D**

 **Path I - Beginnings, Firsts, Risings  
Path II - Elements**  
 **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Anticipation**

 **FAVOURITE ROOM**

Arthur wasn't a little boy anymore. He was already six years old, and just as his father said, he was a _man_. Well, almost. But soon he would be and he would be allowed to train with real knights who carried real swords. Although he still had to wait for that a few more years, that's what his maid told him when he asked.

He liked to watch the knights as they fought on the training grounds. They always somehow knew how to move to block their opponent's blow, what to do to not let their opponent do the same to them, how to _win_.

But as much as he liked to watch them and listen to the clangs of swords against swords and helmets, there was one other room in the castle he still loved more. It was the court physician's chambers. And Gaius was also his favourite person in Camelot (after his father of course, that was expected of him). He was almost like an uncle to Arthur, or a grandpa. And the young prince loved to watch him perform science, especially when it involved potions of various colours and _fire_ under them.

It was almost one hour to midnight when Arthur appeared in Gaius' chambers. He was supposed to go sleep _very_ soon, but he managed to escape his maid because he realized he hadn't visited Gaius that day at all. And at least he wanted to wish the man a good night's sleep, just like his maid did for him every evening.

When he opened the door, he saw Gaius was still sitting at his table, reading something from a book and at the same time stirring a liquid of greenish milky colour. Arthur didn't bother to knock, he entered right away and climbed up on the bench from the other side of the table.

"Hello, Gaius." He greeted him with a smile. The physician jumped slightly and almost spilled the potion, cursing under his breath, so the young prince wouldn't hear him. He heard him anyway.

"Arthur," Gaius frowned when he adjusted the bowl with the potion above the flame. Then he smiled down at the young prince. "You can sneak very well. That's important for great knights." He told him, making Arthur grin instantly.

"Really? I haven't been trying." Arthur said, folding his arms on the table and laying his chin down on them.

"Well, then you're naturally good at it." Gaius muttered as he started reading the book again. "Don't mind me asking, but what are you doing here so late? Shouldn't you be preparing for the night?"

Arthur smirked at that. "I sneaked out." He said. "Apparently, I'm good at that."

Gaius didn't answer, but Arthur noticed he frowned as he read something in the book. Arthur looked at the red flame under the bowl and sighed. It was taking too long. The potion wasn't even boiling yet, and that was more interesting than this. Arthur sighed again and laid his head on his elbow on the table, looking around the things Gaius had around the book.

Then he noticed something interesting – four stones lay around a big white candle. All of them had markings on them that Arthur's never seen before, and words that took Arthur a little while to read. _Fire_ , _water_ , _air_ and _earth._ Arthur frowned at that.

"Gaius, what are those stones for?" Arthur asked, maybe a bit too loudly, because the old man cursed again as he looked at the potion that was way over its boiling point. Gaius stood up and carefully put the bowl with the potion away, just as it started turning yellow. Then he put out the fire with water from the kettle and when everything was secured, he finally looked at Arthur again.

"You're still here?" He asked. "Your maid and father will be worried about you." He commented as he went over to the other half of the long table and returned with a powder, probably made from dry leaves of some herb Arthur didn't know. The prince watched as Gaius put the powder into the potion and it turned green again.

"What are those stones for?" Arthur asked again and this time Gaius pursed his lips and leaned over the table to see which stones Arthur was pointing at.

"A memory." He answered.

"Then why does it say fire, air, water and earth?" Arhtur couldn't help but keep asking. Gaius sighed as he took the stones and shoved them into his pocket.

"Because the one who made them decided it."

"But why?" Arthur asked again.

"You would have to ask him yourself." Gaius answered as he turned back to his potion. Arthur could see Gaius didn't really want to answer, but he couldn't help but be so curious.

"Who made them?"

"My father." Gaius told him.

"Oh," Arthur paused and looked at Gaius. He was sure Gaius' father was no longer alive, so he let it be. He looked at the pocket Gaius hid the stones into and sighed. Then he looked at the potion as Gaius started stirring it again.

"You should go to sleep, young lord." Gaius told him. Suddenly his voice was soft. "You wouldn't want to anger your father, would you?"

"No," Arthur agreed. He hopped off the bench and headed for the door. "Good night Gaius!"

"Sleep well," Gaius smiled as Arthur closed the door.

The typical smell of the herbs and old books disappeared as Arthur left the corridor and when he finally arrived at his chambers and apologized to his maid, he lay into his bed and started thinking about the stones.

He never saw them in Gaius' chambers again.

 **THE END**

 **Well, so this was the first oneshot. By the way, most of them are Merthur, so that's why I selected Merlin/Arthur as a pairing for this fanfic although they're not really in the first chapter. Next oneshot will be posted on the second prompt day - May 4th. Until then, then! :)**


	2. Prompt Day 2 - May 4th

**I'm back as I promised with another oneshot! This one I think is better than the last one, but I'll let you decide :D**

 **Prompts were:**

 **Path I - Artefacts and objects**  
 **Path II - Watching You**  
 **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Enraged**

 **I combined all of them again.**

 **THE "NOT MIRROR"**

"It looks like a very old mirror, Gaius, but it's not really, is it?" Merlin asked as he kept turning the object in his hands, examining it again and again. It looked very old, but when he looked into it, there was no reflection. As if it didn't work like a mirror at all, which, according to Merlin, was very very weird and worth theorizing about.

"It's not a mirror." Gaius confirmed as he was bending over an old book, probably having found something about the object in it.

"Why disguise it as a mirror then, when it doesn't even work like a mirror." Merlin frowned and looked into the strange glass... or was it stone? Merlin wasn't sure. "Is it a magical object?" He asked even though he knew the question was pointless. He found it in the druid camp after Arthur and his men ruined it while looking for Morgana. He was meaning to find the druids again and return it, but first he really, really wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

"Of course it is," Gaius said. "Do you even know which book I'm holding?" He raised the book so Merlin could look at it and read the title. His eyes widened.

"But, Gaius, such books are long forbidden!" He said. "Where did you hide it?"

"The same place I used to hide that spell book I've given you." The old man shrugged and adjusted his glasses on his nose, putting the book back on the table. "Now, this is very interesting. It says here that this... um, _mirror_ , was made in a place called the crystal cave. It's an antique indeed, made with strong magic even before Cornelius Sigan was born."

Merlin raised his eyebrows, but didn't look up. "What does it do?"

Gaius was silent for a moment. Then he pursed his lips and looked closer at the page of the book. "Apparently," he began, "it's supposed to show you the person you're looking for."

Merlin frowned at that. "In what meaning?" He asked. Because everyone was looking for someone, right? For example, Merlin could be wondering what his mother was doing right now and maybe the mirror would show him. _Or_ the mirror might show him someone he's never seen before because maybe he was looking for true love in his life and that person was someone he was supposed to meet.

"It doesn't say." Gaius shrugged. Then he put his glasses off and looked at Merlin. "Don't do anything stupid, please. And return it to the druids as soon as possible."

"Maybe I could use it to find the druids." Merlin wondered.

"If you succeed, let me know." Gaius said as he grabbed his medical bag and closed the book, putting it back to its hiding place.

"Are you going somewhere?" Merlin asked and stood up, not interested in the mirror anymore.

"I have a couple of patients in the lower town that I need to check on." Gaius told him. "It might take about three hours, but I'll be back before supper." He paused and turned back to Merlin, who was looking at the mirror in his hands again. "Merlin," he frowned. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry, Gaius." Merlin smiled up at him innocently.

Gaius narrowed his eyes, but then finally walked out the door and Merlin was alone again. He looked at the mirror and decided it would be better to hide inside his own room, so he went there and closed the door, sitting down on the bed and looking at the mirror in front of himself.

It was made of wood, with druid marks on the back and on the handle. It was very strange to look at it when you couldn't see yourself. As Gaius said earlier, it was _not_ a mirror. Merlin frowned and blew off the dust on the surface, eventually dusting it off with the hem of his jacket. But even then, he couldn't see his reflection. He looked closer, and closer, until his nose almost touched the cold surface.

Without meaning to do anything, the mirror suddenly started glowing and Merlin almost dropped it on the bed. He frowned when it stopped, and carefully he leaned over it to look into the glass. What he saw, made him pause.

It was Arthur.

He didn't mean to use it, he didn't even use magic and he certainly wasn't thinking of anyone he might be looking for. He didn't even say anything. But perhaps, the mirror worked on its own, sensing his strong magic and figuring out who Merlin was looking for in life. Why didn't it work earlier then? Maybe he just wasn't close enough?

He picked up the mirror again and watched as Arthur was looking into his closet, probably looking for something warmer to wear. It was cold outside after all and if Arthur wanted to leave the window open as he usually did, he needed more than only his red tunic. Merlin giggled as Arthur closed the closet and looked around the room, totally clueless. Ever since Merlin put an actual _order_ into Arthur's clothes, it seemed to be only Merlin who knew where to find the things he was looking for, like socks or trousers. Arthur was helpless without him.

The prince looked behind the changing screen (because he usually left it messy there too) and turned back to his table, having found nothing. Merlin snorted. Watching Arthur like this, without having to bear the insults, was _hilarious._

Merlin watched as Arthur gave it up and sat down to his table, with a load of papers waiting for him to go through and sign. Arthur opened his mouth and said something, but Merlin couldn't hear him. He frowned. He was never good at lip reading, he hardly ever had to try, but when he did he was awful at it. Arthur said something again and rolled his eyes, and Merlin focused on his lips (which he was usually used to do anyway, but that is a different story).

"Dolphin?" Merlin whispered. "What, what did you say?" He mumbled to himself, when Arthur ignored the papers on the table and laid an empty sheet of paper in front of him on the table. He took his quill and scratched his head, repeating the word, much louder.

Merlin laughed. "Dolpin? Urine? Swirlin'?" Merlin asked out loud, even though he knew no one was around to hear him.

Then suddenly someone knocked on the door of Gaius' chambers and Merlin immediately put the mirror behind his back.

"Merlin?" He heard the someone say. Merlin hurried to the door and opened it, seeing that it was Sir Leon. When he noticed Merlin, he smiled and continued, "prince Arthur is asking for your presence in his chambers. Immediately."

"I'll be right there," Merlin smiled at him. "Tell him that, would you?" Then he quickly closed the door again and after he heard Leon leave, he sighed with relief. He picked up the mirror again and looked into it. Arthur looked _furious._

He repeated the word, this time yelling, and finally Merlin put two and two together. "Oh no," he hit his forehead with his palm and closed his eyes tightly. _Of course_ Arthur was yelling _Merlin_ , because it was Merlin who had promised to be there today to help him write that speech!

Merlin groaned and looked at the mirror. The image of Arthur was still there. He sighed. "I'm not looking for him anymore." He said. "I know _exactly_ where to find him, thanks." The mirror felt hot in his hand again, but eventually the image disappeared and the heat vanished with it. Merlin smiled and put the mirror under the floor together with his spell book.

Then he gritted his teeth and prepared to face his least favourite side of Arthur – the enraged prince. "Here we go then." He smirked and ran out of the door.

Maybe Arthur wasn't who Merlin was looking for at the moment, but it was definitely Merlin who Arthur was looking for. As usual.

 **THE END**

 **I hope you liked it! ;) Please leave a review, thanks! :)**


	3. Prompt Day 3 - May 6th

**Prompts for today were:**

 **Path I - Hands, Fingers  
** **Path II - Darkness, Shades  
** **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Passionate**

 **I combined paths I and II, and wrote this story. I hope you'll like it because I _love_ this one (which is quite rare to be honest), but it comes with a warning.**

 **Warning: my first attempt at a horror story. But it's also filled with humour, so I don't really know if it's scary or not. But if you're reading this at night and don't want to picture a gross ghost (and I took pleasure in describing that) and be left thinking about the story for the rest of the night, don't read it.**

 **The title is inspired by the name of a Merlin episode. You know which one.**

 **Alright, enjoy! :D**

 **LOVE IN THE TIME OF GHOSTS**

It was not the first time that Merlin had to sleep in the forest because of some stupid quest Arthur was on, but it was the first time since Arthur had knighted Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan and Percival. They were all together in the forest now and as they found out, Gwaine really loved to tell tales around the campfire.

The moon was hidden behind thick grey clouds and the forest was darker than Merlin remembered from their last journey. The air was quite cold, but his hands were warm because of the fire, which made his back feel even colder. With only a small circle of yellow light around them that barely reached the first trees, the atmosphere was a little bit eerie. A chill ran down Merlin's spine and he felt uneasy. Without even thinking about it, he shifted a little closer to Arthur who was sitting on the same log. Thankfully, Arthur didn't notice, and if he did, he didn't say anything.

Gwaine took a deep breath and used a long stick to give the fire a poke, looking at the logs in the fire that were glowing hot. He smirked slightly as he began talking. "It wasn't a long time ago when this happened." He started and looked up to see that everyone was listening to him. "Actually, it happened to a friend of a friend of... um, one of the blokes I met in a tavern on my travels through the five kingdoms after your father, princess, banished me."

Arthur rolled his eyes at that, but knew Gwaine didn't really blame him. They were good friends.

The knight scratched his chin and continued. "He was traveling through the forest, maybe even somewhere around here." Gwaine pointed at the trees around them and shrugged. "He was going home after a long time away, and was looking forward to seeing his family again. But when he was asleep in the night, for some reason he woke up. It was as if something felt... off. No one was around though. Naturally, he unsheathed his sword, but after a while he lay down again because nothing seemed to be happening. He couldn't fall asleep again though, and then," Gwaine paused and looked each of them in the eyes. "He heard a voice. It said _please, leave me alone!_ "

Merlin frowned at that and glanced around the fire. Everyone was looking at Gwaine, including Arthur, so he shifted closer to him, thankful that the prince was clueless as usual.

"What happened then?" Lancelot asked him.

"Then?" Gwaine laughed slightly. "He heard a loud scream, as if from a distance, but not very far away. He didn't hear the scream again." Gwaine shrugged and took a bite of an apple.

"Wait, is that it? Is that the end?" Arthur frowned at Gwaine.

"Eager for more, princess?" Gwaine smirked and then shook his head. "No, it's not the end, actually, but the rest is really creepy. You up for it?" He smirked again, waiting for some reply.

Arthur only rolled his eyes.

"You can continue." Elyan nodded and looked around the campfire. "We're all grown men here, we won't get scared easily."

"Who said this will be easy?" Gwaine smiled at him. "Alright. After he heard the scream, he heard a loud thud, as if something fell down from a high place, you know? He wanted to ignore it, but he couldn't stay in the forest anymore. So he started packing up his things." He paused again and then he suddenly stood up, "and _then!_ "

Merlin jumped a little and grabbed Arthur's hand, without even thinking about it. He froze and swallowed, slowly turning his head to Arthur. The prince was looking at him with his eyes wide, but before Merlin could react, he squeezed Merlin's hand in his and smiled. Merlin smiled back and tried to calm down his rapidly beating heart, but it was useless because Gwaine continued talking.

"And then!" He repeated, not noticing Merlin's and Arthur's joined hands on the log between them. "Then he heard silent footsteps." Gwaine sat down again. "He reached for his sword and quickly turned around, but what he saw was something he couldn't use any weapon against. It was a ghost."

"A ghost?" Percival laughed.

"Yes," Gwaine nodded without even a hint of a smile. "I'm bloody serious, mate." He added. When Percival only shrugged with a smile, Gwaine continued. "It wasn't just any ghost. His head was smashed and blood was pouring down the rest of his face and down his neck, colouring his clothes. It was dripping on his boot, _drip! Drip! Drip!_ His clothes were same as the clothes our main hero was wearing. The ghost had a broken arm and one of his legs was missing, but he didn't need it to move, did he? He was a ghost, he could move around just fine." Gwaine chuckled. Then his expression turned dark and Merlin squeezed Arthur's hand again, glad that Arthur didn't seem to mind.

"The man who was sleeping in the forest realized the dangerous truth. The ghost he saw in front of himself, was his _own_ ghost." Gwaine paused again to add drama to his story and looked around at his friends. His eyes wandered down to Merlin and Arthur's clasped hands and he smiled, just as Merlin's cheeks turned pink.

Arthur noticed that Gwaine saw them and looked at Merlin, slowly letting go of Merlin's hand, only to entwine their fingers, surprising Merlin yet again. He smiled and Merlin smiled back, when suddenly, Gwaine cleared his throat very loudly.

"It was his _own_ ghost!" He repeated and stood up. "The ghost had only one eye left on his head and the eye was looking straight at that man. The man-"

"Maybe it would help if the man had a name?" Elyan interrupted the story, receiving an annoyed look from Gwaine.

"Alright, what name do you want?" He threw his arms up almost as if in surrender and then crossed them on his chest, still standing. "But I want you to know that you've ruined the horror atmosphere here."

"Hm, a name? Arthur smirked. "What about _Gwaine_?"

"What about _Arthur_?" Gwaine smirked back.

"Let's not name him after any of us." Merlin decided. "What about... Peter?"

"No, that's too common," Lancelot shook his head.

"I know exactly how to name him," Elyan smiled. "Pinkie the Enormous."

"That would _totally_ ruin the story, which is supposed to be _scary,_ by the way!" Gwaine protested loudly.

"Gwaine, the story is already ruined." Arthur rolled his eyes. Then he smiled at Elyan and nodded. "Pinkie the Enormous it is." He decided, receiving a groan from Gwaine as he sat down again.

"Pinkie the Enormous the third!" Lancelot made it better with a grin.

"Thanks, mate." Gwaine mumbled, rubbing his eyes and taking another bite of his apple to feel better about his ruined attempt to scare his friends. Then he cleared his throat. "Alright, so it was _his own ghost!_ " He repeated, stressing every word to add drama that was so needed. Then he nodded. "It was indeed. So, _Pinkie the Enormous the third_ ," he looked at Elyan and Lancelot with his eyes hilariously wide, "took a step back. He was already holding his rucksack with all his things, and as he noticed, the remnants of the very same rucksack were on the ghost's back. Pinkie's heart was beating fast in his chest and he took another step back, but the ghost took a step forward. The ghost reached out his arm that was not broken and only scratched, and he opened his mouth. Several teeth were missing and blood was running down his chin. That was when Pinkie the Enormous the third turned around and started running."

Merlin felt Arthur's thumb that was slowly caressing the back of his hand.

"He was running and running as fast as he could, but the distance between him and the ghost didn't change." Gwaine continued. "He turned around as he ran and saw the ghost's hand, reaching for his throat. Pinkie the Enormous the third yelped and turned back to see where he was running, but there was a huge abyss in front of him and he had to stop. He heard that the abyss seemed bottomless, and when he stopped at the edge and glanced down, he only saw dark and fog. He turned back to the ghost, who was nearing him. Every second he was closer and _closer!_ " Gwaine exclaimed. "Pinkie screamed _please, leave me alone!"_

At that, Merlin together with others gasped. Gwaine smirked at that. "The ghost didn't stop though. He reached for Pinkie's heart and as Pinkie tried to get away, he stepped into the abyss and fell down, screaming at the top of his lungs until he hit the ground with a loud _thud._ " Gwaine paused again and poked the fire with his stick. "His family found him about a week later." He said. "His head was smashed, his arm was broken and one of his legs was missing."

A long silence followed the end of the story, until Gwaine added, "the end."

"Isn't there an abyss somewhere in this forest?" Merlin asked, his voice way weaker than he thought.

"There is one," Arthur nodded. "But there are no ghosts, and it's late. We should try to get some rest so we can head out early tomorrow."

Gwaine grinned at that and stood up, stretching himself. "Well then, gentlemen." He smirked. "Who'd like to have the first watch?"

 **THE END**

 **You know, about 8 years ago, when I was about 10, my best friend decided to tell me a few horror stories from her (younger) brother's book. To this day, I only remember this one because I pictured it quite well as she was telling me the story. I think there was also a story about an old lady turning kids into trees in her garden or something, but personally, I think this one was creepier.**

 **Well, I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading it and please leave a review! ;)**


	4. Prompt Day 4 - May 8th

**Prompts were:**

 **Path I - Magic  
** **Path II – Knights, Kings, Princes  
** **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Sorrow**

 **I tried to combine them all, but I think it's not _sad_ enough. You'll definitely feel sorry for Percival, but the way he talks about it, I don't think I made it _sad_ enough :/ I chose _knights_ , so there are no kings or princes (other than Merlin talking and complaining about Arthur as usual).**

 **Enjoy! :)**

 **PERCIVAL**

Merlin hated when he had to sharpen Arthur's sword, mainly because Arthur wanted him to sharpen his sword every other day, even when it wasn't needed. It was his sort of punishment for being annoying, but Arthur thought Merlin was annoying all the time! Which was the reason Merlin found himself in the armory so often, and also in the stables, that was another chore Arthur wanted him to do almost every day. One of Arthur's favourites to be honest.

"Merlin, mock out the stables while I'm gone, will you? You see, I really need to train even though I'm already the best swordsman in Camelot because I really want my muscles to be bigger, and while you're at it, take care of the laundry, _sharpen_ my sword and clean my chambers!" Merlin mumbled under his breath, changing his voice so it sounded deeper like Arthur's.

He rolled his eyes then as he continued the movement with his hand, up and down, up and down, even though the sword seemed sharp enough. But that didn't matter apparently because Arthur wanted him to sharpen _every_ sword in the armoury, as if he was a servant of the whole army!

With a tired sigh, he looked around and sat into the corner of the armoury so he was partly hidden behind the shields (that he had to polish as well), and he gathered all of the swords and laid them on the bench. Then he looked around again and when he was sure the armoury was empty, he used his magic so the swords started polishing all at once. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but without using magic he wouldn't be able to complete all the other chores Arthur gave him for today. Needless to say that Arthur would be done with the training in an hour and he'd be angry to find out that his chambers were just as messy as he'd left them in the morning.

Of course, he was training with mace because as he said himself, his sword just wasn't sharp enough. But you know what Merlin forgot to tell him about that? That it's bullshit. He almost cut himself in half with one of the swords, so they were sharp enough for training, even for real battle!

"Ah, Merlin-" Someone said and Merlin froze, immediately letting the swords go and they all fell down with a loud _clang_. His shoulders were tensed as he slowly turned his head to see who just saw him use magic.

It was Percival.

Merlin's eyes widened and he stood up, backing away. But Percival raised his hands in a friendly gesture and didn't seem he wanted to kill him. "Merlin, it's okay," he smiled slightly and slowly sat down on the bench.

Merlin could hear he was breathing quickly and he hesitated before he sat down next to Percival. They were silent for a moment, until Merlin cleared his throat and swallowed. "Please don't tell anyone." He asked.

Percival nodded. "Don't worry." He said. "You're my friend and I know you're a good man, I would never betray you."

"Even though I betrayed you?" Merlin looked up at him with doubt in his eyes.

"I don't see magic as evil." Percival surprised him. "And I understand why you didn't say anything. Camelot... is a difficult place to live with your talent." It was the longest Merlin's ever heard Percival talk, but something was telling him there would be more.

"My talent?" He smiled. "You don't think it's a curse or something?"

"Of course not." Percival smiled. Then he looked around the armoury before he looked back at Merlin. "My mother had magic too." He confessed. "We lived in Camelot, but Uther burned down our village because it was where most sorcerers lived and he didn't want to fight with every one of them individually."

"Percival, I didn't know, I'm so sorry." Merlin frowned. Percival never talked much and they didn't know anything about his family or his life from before he was a knight of Camelot. At least Merlin didn't.

"It's alright." He told him. "It was a long time ago, I was merely a little boy. My parents died in the fire," he continued. "And I managed to escape into the forest, where I found the druids and lived with them ever since."

"How come you're helping Arthur then? Why are you helping the kingdom that... killed your family?"

"Arthur is different." Percival smiled. "And I think that you know that too, otherwise I could ask you the same question."

Merlin smiled at that and nodded. "Arthur is indeed different. And I believe that one day, he'll become the greatest king Camelot has ever known." He smiled dreamily. Then he looked back at Percival. "That's why I'm helping him. Thank you for not telling anyone."

Percival nodded. "Arthur will become a better king than Uther, especially when he has such loyal friends."

"That's true." Merlin smiled.

"But I can't promise you'll be there to see it," Percival stood up again. "The training is over and I'm guessing Arthur is already in his chambers, looking for you."

"Oh no," Merlin moaned and quickly stood up, picking up the swords and putting them back. He thought he had more time! "I'll have to finish this later," he sighed when he looked around. Then he looked up at Percival. "See you later, then."

Percival only nodded and Merlin smiled and ran out of the armoury, heading straight for Arthur's chambers. He was almost looking forward to seeing Arthur's face this time, but he was sure he would manage to complete all his chores today, and Arthur didn't have much more to order him to do.

Merlin smiled as he stopped in front of Arthur's room. Arthur was a moron at times, but Percival was right. With such great friends, he would become a better king than his father.

And Merlin was happy to have such loyal friends too.

 **THE END**

 **I made it all up, I don't remember anything about Percival's past (if it was ever mentioned), but in lots of fanfics I've read in this fandom, people assumed he used to live with the druids, so I used that :) I realize that this chapter might be a little bit boring, the next one might be too, but the one after that is full of Merthur and fluffy kisses and _love_ and I hope you'll love that ( it's for Prompt Day 7 because I didn't write anything for Prompt Day 6, so it'll come out next Monday I think).**

 **Thanks for reading! ;)**


	5. Prompt Day 5 - May 11th

**Sorry for not updating yesterday, I ended up writing a supernatural coda fanfic and when I was finished, it was after midnight :D**

 **Prompts were:**

 **Path I - A quote, a line  
** **Path II - Legends, fairy tales, stories  
** **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Hope**

 **Again, I combined all of them. And even though there's no action or Merthur moments or anything funny, I hope you'll like this :)**

 **ONE DAY**

* * *

" _Be strong because things get better. It may be stormy now, but it never rains forever."_

The sun was setting down and the shadows were long. Warm breeze was blowing in through the windows and Hunith smiled, holding her little boy in her arms. Yes, it was a beautiful evening of a beautiful day, but nothing was more beautiful than her little son's smile. She looked down at him and saw that he was watching the pattern on her chest of the dress she was wearing. He was a lovely child, always cheerful and trying to help her with chores, even if he couldn't stand up on his own yet.

Nothing was more beautiful than his little face. But nothing was more terrifying than the flash of gold in his eyes when he was too excited or too sad. Hunith was scared that one day someone would see, notice her son's extraordinary abilities, and that some day someone would take him away from her.

"Don't worry," she whispered to him and he looked up at her and smiled. "No one will take you away from me. One day, you will have a good life with a lot of friends. You're destined for great things, I can feel that." She smiled. "When you're old enough, you'll leave this old village behind and find a better life."

Merlin yawned and his eyes fluttered shut, making Hunith laugh softly. "Of course, it's time for bed." She said and carefully closed the window with one hand.

Then she carried Merlin to the back of her little house and sat down on the ground, swaying him in her arms. "I'll tell you a story to help you sleep." She whispered when she saw Merlin wasn't asleep yet. "Once upon a time, there was a man. He lived far away from here, in a village. He was very special." She smiled down at him. "His friends weren't only people. His friends were also dragons. They were big and majestic creatures, who listened to the man's every word. He never used his powers against them though. He was a good man." She smiled dreamily and swayed Merlin in her arms again.

"But there was also a king, who wanted the dragons to leave this world." She told Merlin. "He tricked the good man and then hunted him until the good man had to leave his home and even his kingdom. Do you know where he ended up?" She smiled down at Merlin, whose eyes were open again and he smiled at his mother. She kissed his cheeks and slowly lay down on the ground, covering herself and Merlin with a blanket.

"He ended up in a little village, where he didn't know anyone. There was a woman though, who offered him a bed for the night. The man and woman fell in love, and for the first time in a long time, the man felt happy. He thought he could have a family and a good life. But... the king found him." She paused for a moment and sighed. "The king found him and one night the woman woke up, only to find her bed empty. She didn't know what happened until she found out there were knights in her little village."

Hunith looked down at Merlin and saw that her baby wasn't smiling anymore. She smiled down at him and kissed his nose. "But don't worry, every fairy tale has a happy ending." She assured her little son. "The man and woman found each other again and started a new life, very far away from their kingdom. They lived happily with their son." She told him. "Good night, Merlin." She kissed his cheek and saw that Merlin was finally falling asleep with his little mouth falling open.

"One day," she whispered to him. "One day you will have a happy life too. You will find someone that you will truly love and who will love you back. You will not have to worry about your gift anymore because you will be accepted among everyone who knows you and you will not have to run away from anyone. You will be brave and kind and people will love you."

 _At least that's what I hope your life will be like._ She thought, leaving it unsaid. Her son was asleep, softly snoring against her chest and Hunith smiled. Even though she knew she might never see Balinor again, at this moment, she was happy and she fell asleep next to her son with a hope for a better world on her mind.

* * *

 **Isn't little Merlin cute? I wish we got at least one special flashback episode where we'd see both Merlin and Arthur as little kids... or any flashback would be great, just imagine how _adorable_ that would be :D**


	6. Prompt Day 7 - May 15th

**And here's finally the fluffy Merthur oneshot I promised! I hope you'll enjoy it! ;)**

 **Path I - Home  
** **Path II - Brightness, Light  
** **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Amused**

 **I think this time I used path I and path II.**

 **WE'RE READY**

* * *

The log he was sitting on was cold from the night, but Arthur didn't mind. Actually, he felt as if nothing bothered him anymore, as if he was finally free and could do whatever he could because he didn't have any duties for the day and he wasn't on some dangerous quest either. He breathed in the morning air and closed his eyes as he breathed out.

Calm. He felt calm. He felt the first rays of the sun touch his face and he smiled because his cheeks felt warm and he was allowed to feel it and live only for this short moment. He didn't have to think about the training or council meetings, he could just watch the sunrise and listen to the sounds of the forest. Insects and birds were almost everywhere.

He had no idea why hadn't he suggested that Merlin went to visit his mother in Ealdor earlier, he knew Merlin would take him with him and if he wouldn't, Arthur would sneak out and follow him anyway, he was the king after all.

Suddenly all the calm and quiet got interrupted by approaching footsteps. He knew who it was. A boy whose eyes had the colour of the sun. Arthur smiled and turned around, noticing his boyfriend with the perfect and hilarious bedhead as he was coming to him. Merlin smiled back at him and then noticed the beautiful sunrise. In that moment though, he tripped over a root and landed on his face in the high grass.

Arthur laughed and stood up to pick him up. "I swear, you're hopeless even in your home village."

"It's because you're here, too." Merlin mumbled when he took Arthur's hand and stood up, brushing himself off with Arthur's help. "I'm sure you're the source of my hopelessness." He added and leaned in to kiss him, but Arthur smirked and moved away.

"Is it because you're hopelessly in love with me?" He asked, receiving a beautiful eyeroll with a nice view of Merlin's long eyelashes. When their eyes met again, Merlin shrugged.

"Maybe." Then he paused and pursed his lips, looking down at Arthur's mouth. "Can I kiss you now? Because if I can't, I think I might become even more hopeless and- uhmp." Arthur didn't let him finish as he closed the distance between them with a deserved morning kiss and hugged Merlin tightly. The young warlock laughed into the kiss and then moved away, gently brushing a gold lock of hair away from Arthur's forehead and putting his hands on his cheeks.

"Good morning," he smiled at him beautifully and Arthur couldn't help but grin.

"Good morning." He answered and put his hand over Merlin's on his cheek and then entwined their fingers, turning away from him and leading him to the log so they could sit down together and watch the sunrise.

"Did you sleep well?" Merlin asked casually as he was looking at the bright light all around the forest.

"I did. Not as well as in Camelot, but..." Arthur took a deep breath as he squeezed Merlin's hand, "I love it here."

"Really?" Merlin chuckled. "What's a small village compared to Camelot?"

"Oh, admit it." Arthur turned to him. "You love it here too. You don't have a list of chores to complete for every day-"

"Thanks for reminding me of my job-"

"-and I don't have any responsibilities either." Arthur didn't let Merlin interrupt him as he continued. "I don't have to be a king here, I can be... normal."

"You really like that, don't you?" Merlin asked seriously and Arthur nodded, looking down at their hands and then back at the sun in front of them. "Well, you're right. I love Camelot, but I guess... here I'm free." Merlin smiled.

Arthur was silent for a while and Merlin didn't say anything either. They were just sitting next to each other in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. Then Arthur finally looked down and gathered up the courage to ask the question he knew Merlin was waiting for.

"Have you told her?" He asked, his voice soft and not scared, but a little bit wary.

Merlin took a deep breath and looked down as well, sighing. "Which one do you mean?"

"Both?" Arthur answered.

"Neither." Merlin shrugged."She's still asleep... I think. But yesterday, I wanted to, but I just... I couldn't."

"It's okay." Arthur nodded. "We can tell her once you're ready. You don't have to be alone."

"Thanks." Merlin smiled at him and laid his head on Arthur's shoulder, closing his eyes. Arthur laid his head down on Merlin's head and smiled slightly. They were planning to visit Hunith because it had been ages since Merlin last saw his mother, and also because there were two major changes in their relationship since their last visit.

First change was that while during their last visit they were still falling in love, now they were in a healthy relationship. (Although Arthur still liked to boss Merlin around, but this time Merlin had the privilege to make him pay for that later.)

And second change was that Arthur knew about Merlin's magic now. They both knew Hunith has been afraid for her son's life ever since he was born and even more so since he arrived at Camelot. That was why Merlin was equally scared to tell her about the second change as well as about the first change in their relationship.

"I can't remember the last time I could just sit somewhere and watch the sunrise." Arthur admitted. "Well, I'm pretty sure it's because you never wake me up in time and thanks to you we're both always late."

Merlin laughed at that and nudged him with his elbow. "Dollop-head."

"Shut up." Arthur smiled.

Then he raised his head and turned Merlin closer to him, kissing him again with his hands on Merlin's shoulders. Merlin sighed with happiness as he devoured Arthur's sweet lips. It felt like ages when they finally parted and the sun was already up, illuminating every tree and every branch and leaf it could reach.

Their eyes were still closed and their foreheads were touching and they were still holding on to each other, trying to save every second and remember this moment for the rest of their lives.

Merlin opened his eyes again and looked down at Arthur's lips that were so so close to his own. He gave him a quick kiss because he just couldn't help himself, and then he smiled. "I think she's awake now." He whispered, looking up into Arthur's eyes. "I'm ready." The young warlock nodded, deciding to move his head from Arthur's forehead to his shoulder as he hugged him and breathed him in, moving his fingers up and down Arthur's spine. "I know I'm ready."

"Then I'm ready too." Arthur smiled, closing his eyes and holding Merlin tightly.

When they finally let go of each other, they looked at the sun again. "You know what?" Arthur smiled. "I don't care whether I'm in Camelot or in Ealdor, or lost in the deepest cave." He turned to Merlin and smiled. "As long as I'm with you, I don't care. You're my home."

Merlin beamed at that. "You're my home too, Arthur. I love you."

"I love you too." Arthur leaned in and kissed Merlin again. Then he stood up and held out his hand, waiting for Merlin to take it. Once he did, they left the log and the forest and walked back to Hunith's house, hand in hand.

They looked back one more time, seeing the sun in between the trees, and then after sharing a look and a smile, they took the final step to enter Merlin's old house. And Merlin was right. His mother was already up and looking for them, and once she saw them and noticed their joined hands, giving them both a very happy smile, they knew they never had to worry about anything.

* * *

 **I hope you liked it! The next story will be also Merthur, but I'm not sure if I have time this Thursday to post it. If there's no new chapter on Thursday, I'll definitely post it on Friday of course ;)**


	7. Prompt Day 8 - May 18th

**I'm so sorry for not updating yesterday or on Thursday. I know I promised I'd post the chapter on Friday if I was too busy on Thursday, but it turned out I was busy on Friday too :/**

 **Prompts:**

 **Path I - Love is love is love  
Path II - Scenery**  
 **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Doubtful**

 **I tried to use all of them again and came up with this Merthur fluff, enjoy! ;)**

 **I'M NOT SAYING GOODBYE**

* * *

Merlin took a deep breath and walked out of the door, towards the balcony of one of the high towers of the castle. They weren't in Camelot. Uther wanted Arthur to deliver some sort of a contract to a queen that had her kingdom overseas. It was the first time Merlin sailed on a royal ship, or any ship, and the thought made him smile because he and Arthur were assigned the same chamber under the deck. Yes, he slept on the floor covered in furs, but still. It was as close to Arthur as he could get.

Well, until today. That was, if everything worked out the way Merlin hoped it would.

Arthur was standing on the balcony, looking at the beauty of the foreign kingdom. His hair was tousled and it almost sparkled in the golden sunshine. Merlin wanted to just go there and be able to take Arthur's hand or lay his head on his shoulder and be done with it. No problems, no difficult explaining and awkward conversations Merlin wasn't sure he was ready for. But he couldn't wait forever, and he had promised himself he'd do it _today._ He'd finally tell him.

The balcony was very high above the ground, and when Merlin joined Arthur and looked down, he saw a river run through a forest and around the training grounds for the knights. He saw a big red bird he's never seen before fly above them and he smiled, following it with his eyes until he got almost blinded by the sun. The sun was just setting down in between two high mountains and its last rays were shining right at them, making them feel warm. The view was breathtaking, especially because on the other side of the sky the moon was already visible.

Merlin found himself smiling and for once, he didn't mind the silence that settled between them. It wasn't awkward like it usually was lately, it was comfortable. And when Merlin looked at Arthur, he found out the prince was already looking at him with a small smile playing at his lips.

The young warlock swallowed and lost almost all of the courage he'd been gathering all day with only one look into Arthur's blue eyes.

"Arthur," he quickly started before he could stop himself. "I need to tell you something and I want you to know that if you're uncomfortable because of it or if you don't want to be friends anymore and want to find a new servant or if you just don't want to see me ever again I can just stay here and then you'll never hear of me again and I'm so sorry if-"

" _Mer_ lin." Arthur rolled his eyes and stopped his servant. "What on earth are you rambling about?" Then he frowned, making Merlin turn all pink. "You look like you've accidentally stepped on a butterfly or whatever would make you look like... well, _this._ "

"No, there's no butterfly." Merlin shook his head and took a deep breath. "I just need to tell you something and I'm really... really scared." He admitted, not looking away from Arthur's frown.

Then Arthur's eyes cleared as if he understood. He put his arm on Merlin's shoulder, unknowingly making the entire situation for Merlin even worse. "Merlin, whatever you did to my favorite tunic, it's okay, it's just a piece of clothing."

Merlin couldn't help but snort, but then his smile disappeared and he shook his head again. He looked down and closed his eyes briefly. "This isn't about your clothes... this... this is about _you._ " He finally admitted. "And... and I'm about to tell you something that might change everything that you see in me. I doubt you feel the same way as I do, which is the worst feeling in the world because in that case... I'm saying goodbye." He looked up at his prince again with pain in his eyes and sighed. "But I can't keep living like this, I need to tell you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Arthur told him, making Merlin smile slightly.

"I know you don't." He sighed. Then he looked into his eyes and carefully placed his hand on Arthur's that was still on his shoulder. Arthur frowned slightly, but Merlin continued. "I... I love you. Not like a brother, or a friend. I... Arthur, I'm _in_ _love_ with you."

There. He said it. And either his life was over or it was just about to begin. Merlin was already preparing himself for the former.

Arthur was silent for a moment, and then he slowly took his hand away from Meriln's shoulder. Merlin's hand fell down with it and his shoulder slumped. He could already feel the fear clutch at his heart because the way Arthur was looking at him could mean nothing but-

"Are you sure?" Arthur suddenly asked, taking Merlin aback.

"What? Of course I'm sure, I've been in love with you for _years_ , Arthur. It's something that I can't escape and if you don't feel the same way... well, I need to move on." He admitted and felt his heart in his chest, beating faster than just a few moments ago. This was it. The end of their relationship, the end of their shared destiny. It might as well be the end of the world.

"I don't know what to say." Arthur closed his eyes and looked down.

"You can say goodbye." Merlin suggested with a sad shrug, his voice breaking and his eyes filling with tears.

"No." Arthur's firm and determined voice surprised him, so he looked up, but Arthur was still looking at his feet. "Never." Arthur added and looked into Merlin's eyes. What Merlin could see in them was fear and uncertainty a hesitation. Something that he's never seen in Arthur's eyes before.

"Arthur?" He asked, unsure of what to do exactly.

"I'm not good at this," Arthur told him, suddenly stepping a tiny bit closer. He took a deep breath. "I... I don't know what to do or what to say, but right now,... I know I can never say goodbye to you." He said and took Merlin's hand into his. "You mean more to me than a friend or a brother too, Merlin. I've been... _feeling_ something lately that I can't quite explain, but... I know I feel it whenever I'm around you and I know it feels _good_ **.** "

Merlin didn't have to hear more. He squeezed Arthur's hand put his other hand on Arthur's neck, stepping closer to him and looking down at his lips. They were trembling. Merlin looked up at Arthur with a question in his eyes, but before he could do anything, Arthur leaned down and closed the distance between them in one long awaited kiss. Their lips moved in sync, as if they've been kissing like this forever. Everything about it felt so familiar and yet so strange. It felt _right._ As if finally everything made sense, as if every question was answered with this one simple act of love.

They pulled away, both out of breath and with huge smiles on their faces.

"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" Arthur asked, still smiling and breathing hard.

Merlin shook his head and his cheeks turned pink again. "No, this was... my first kiss, actually." He looked down at Arthur's lips and could see that this was not over. Their lips were like magnets, unable to stay apart when they were this close.

"Well, then." Arthur smiled at him. "First of many."

And with that, all Merlin's doubts disappeared. His life was not over. This was merely the beginning.

* * *

 **I hope you liked it!** **Oh and I'm posting another chapter of this tonight because today is another Prompt Day :D Stay tuned! ;)**

 **In case you're also a Supernatural fan: yes I saw the finale, yes I'm thinking of writing a coda once I have more time, and no, I'm nowhere near okay emotionally, the finale DESTROYED ME, no kidding, I cry whenever I think about it :'(**


	8. Prompt Day 9 - May 20th

**And here I am again! :D**

 **Prompts:**

 **Path I - Favourite Character entrance  
Path II - Touches, Touching**  
 **Path III - Emotion/Mood: Fulfilled**

 **Yeah, I'm not sure which paths I used... definitely the second path... I'll let you decide on the rest though *shrugs***

 **JUST A LITTLE BIT OF FUN**

* * *

It had been raining for hours and yet they couldn't find any place to hide along the journey through the forest. They had to continue, all of the knights and Merlin behind Arthur as he was leading them to the borders of Camelot. They'd received a few worrisome reports of illegal slavery in that area and now they were on their way to check it out and stop it if it was true.

The journey was boring though and just a few hours ago, they were all soaking wet. Now they were almost dry again, only thanks to the summer warm wind blowing in their faces. Gwaine wasn't happy about how his hair turned out to look after all of that.

And what could he do about such a boring journey? Of course he had a plan.

He waited until they stopped to rest on a beautiful meadow. Then Gwaine went to look around and find the perfect spot for his plan, smirking as he was thinking about it. It was perfect. Yes, Merlin and hopefully Arthur too would both get wet again and dirty, but it was necessary because Gwaine just couldn't listen to them talking any longer. Every time one of them opened his mouth, all Gwaine and the rest of the knights heard was an old married couple arguing. And there was no escaping unless the idiots finally admitted their love for each other.

So that was why both Merlin and Arthur needed his help, and he hoped that the rest of the knights would help him with his plan.

Gwaine walked around the meadow, finally finding a huge puddle of mud on the road. He quickly went to the forest and came back with a handful of leaves and grass and he covered the puddle as neatly as he could, getting help from Percival, Lancelot, Elyan and even Leon.

When they were done, they all went back and only Gwaine stayed in the forest.

"Merlin?" Lancelot called his friend when he saw he was standing right next to Arthur, complaining about everything he could think of only to get back at Arthur who had insulted him again. When he got Merlin's attention, he smiled and pointed at Gwaine, who was waiting at the edge of the forest, looking at them. "Gwaine says he needs your help, it's urgent, come on!"

Merlin frowned. "Yeah, of course. What is it?" He followed him, walking quickly.

"I don't know, but we need to hurry." Lancelot called and started to run. When Merlin noticed that all of the knights were running towards Gwaine as well, he picked up his pace with a frown on his face and started running, not noticing the puddle at all.

Lancelot ran faster and faster and then he made a huge jump right over the puddle, leading Meriln who didn't know about it, right into it.

Merlin yelped and slipped, ending up on his butt with mud everywhere, even in his hair. As soon as everyone started laughing, he understood and rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha, very funny. Now I'm dirty all over!" He frowned.

"That was the point!" Gwaine walked to him with a grin on his face. "But- ah, princess is coming for rescue!" Gwaine smirked.

The second part of his plan was here!

They all turned around, seeing Arthur who was jogging towards them with a frown on his face. He stopped when he reached the puddle and put his arms on his hips. Then he looked around at his men. "And this is what you call behaving like knights?" He sighed.

When Merlin nodded and looked around, noticing he had mud on his face too, Arthur started laughing as well. "But I need to say, this is hilarious."

"Hilarious?" Merlin looked up at him, "are you kidding me? Look at me!"

"Believe me, I am looking." Arthur laughed. When Merlin didn't say anything in return and only folded his arms on his chest, Arthur sighed. "Alright, that's it, you've had enough fun." He looked at the knights around him as he walked over to Merlin. "I don't take any responsibility in whatever Merlin decides to do to make you pay for this."

He frowned when all of the knights were silently watching him, and then he reached out his hand to Merlin, who took it. Before he could pull him up and out of the puddle though, Merlin pulled him down with a surprising strength and then they were both all muddy and the center of the joke. Everyone was laughing.

"Don't worry," Merlin smiled at Arthur. "I've already decided how to make you pay for laughing at me."

And with that followed another wave of laughter, that got even the horses interested.

Arthur rolled his eyes and tried to get up, but Merlin pulled him back down, keeping him there. "It's not over yet," he laughed together with the knights. Arthur grabbed Merlin's shoulder and tried to get away from him, but he slipped and only ended up pressing his entire body into Merlin's, embarrassing them both. Now it was Merlin who tried to get away, but Arthur decided to keep him under.

"Do we just keep making each other pay for everything?" He laughed. "Because I'm starting to enjoy this." He touched the mud with his palm and then touched Merlin's neck, spreading the mud all over, laughing.

Merlin decided to do the same to Arthur's hair, for which Arthur decided to give Merlin a big muddy hug.

They continued fighting and laughing for good ten minutes, until they were both tired and dirty as never before and the knights around were practically dying of laughter. "I'm done." Merlin announced and with Arthur's help, he stood up. The knights were still standing there and laughing, until Gwaine came closer to them with a smile on his face.

"Now, this was our plan." He said. Then he shrugged. "I guess you'll have to go find the nearest river and wash yourself now." He smirked.

"I don't think so." Arthur shook his head as he neared Gwaine, who started to back away a little. "First I need to give a big hug to you, come on, Gwaine!" He grabbed his hand and before Gwaine could get away it was too late. He had mud in his hair (for which he would get his revenge) and all over his chainmail and trousers.

Merlin did the same to Lancelot, and in the end, they were all almost indistinguishable from each other because everything was brown.

Yes, Gwaine learned his lesson. Whatever you decided to do for the good of your friends, you can always count with consequences. But it was always worth it.

* * *

 **I know this isn't the best one, but I hope you liked it at least a bit anyway :)**


	9. Prompt Day 11 - Part One

**Hello again! I'm so sorry I didn't write anything for more than a month. I should have posted this so long ago, but when I read it again I thought it was such a stupid and weird story that it wasn't worth posting, and then I didn't post the other ones either because this one would sort of leave a _hole_ in this collection...**

 **But after a friend told me she was looking forward to reading this, I decided to give it another go. (Thanks Clipsy!)**

 **The prompts were:**

 **path I -** **family in blood or mind** **  
** **path II -** **AU/crossover/fusion** **  
** **path III – vulnerable**

 **I think I sort of used all of them, but most of all _path II._ I don't really read AUs often, but when I decided to write this, I didn't want it to be any AU that all of you probably already know. No soulmates AU or pirates AU or even cowboys AU or probably the most famous high school AU. I wanted something new... _and so I turned Merlin into a pudding._**

 **Yes, I really did that and yes, I might be a slightly bit crazy (being in 20+ fandoms does that to you), but I still hope you'll like it :D**

 **Enjoy!**

 **SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO**

After weeks and weeks of observation and endless waiting, it was finally time for Arthur to put on his spacesuit and get out there into the black nothingness. He was excited. As a part of a team, it was a privilege to be the first one to go to outer space and try to communicate with the being they've been observing all this time.

No one knew what or who it was, if it was alive or just some strange anomaly, or if it was dangerous or peaceful. So far, it has been circling around their station, doing nothing and just... watching them, while they were watching it too.

Arthur was the most successful member of the team. Whenever he had a shift, the strange being stopped being boring and started moving around. That was probably the reason they selected him as the first one to go examine it from close.

Arthur took a deep breath and fastened his helmet, giving a thumbs up to Lancelot. The door finally opened, sucking him out until the whole world was spinning for him and he couldn't even see their station. When he touched his stomach though, the rope was still there, his safe ride back home. If the rope broke... he'd be lost.

"Everything's fine so far." Arthur reported. "Oxygen on maximum, no problems detected. Over."

"Fine." Gwen answered. "Try to locate the anomaly. Over."

"On it. Over." Arthur nodded and tried to look around. He couldn't see it. "Station. I can't find it. Over."

"It's right above you, Arthur." Morgana told him. "You'll need to turn around. Over."

"Copy that. Over."

He kicked his legs and moved around his arms awkwardly, until he was finally (but slowly) moving around. But he didn't have to turn around all the way. The being started moving towards him. It was bigger than he thought it would be and it looked like a floating... sort of dusty... jelly? It had a strange transparent blue colour and it immediately stole all of Arthur's attention.

"It's getting too close to you, Arthur. Over." Gwen told him, worried.

"It's okay." Arthur answered, smiling as he was looking at the thing in front of him. "It's alright. It's not dangerous, I can feel it... over."

"Are you sure? Over."

"I'm sure. Over."

"Okay. Try to find out anything useful. Over."

Arthur sighed as the being stopped in front of him, as if trying to decide if he was dangerous. It was constantly changing shapes and it seemed very interested in him. Now Arthur was sure it was alive. It was not an anomaly.

"Hello." He said, hoping the thing could hear him.

For a second it was silent, and then suddenly it formed into a shape of a human. Arthur gasped and before he knew it, the being changed into a young dark-haired boy in blue jeans and a red hoodie and blue eyes. It blinked a few times and then suddenly smiled.

"Hello." It answered. Its voice sounded young and through the helmet it almost made Arthur think the being was whispering, scared to talk to him for the first time. Just like Arthur was, but with every second he was more excited than scared.

Arthur's eyes were wide. "What are you?" He continued.

"I'm lost." It answered and changed back into a huge blue piece of pudding. Then it transformed again and looked just like Arthur in the spacesuit. "I'm here." It added.

"Are you an alien?" Arthur narrowed his eyes, a bit uneasy to be looking into his own eyes.

"I was. I am. I will be." It replied. "I'm not like you. I don't have a face. I can look like this. Or like this." It transformed into Gwen and Arthur frowned.

"Please don't steal my or my friend's faces." He said.

"I don't have a face." It repeated.

"What about the boy you were before." Arthur said. "I liked him, can you transform back?"

"That was not my face." It said and transformed back into the boy with blue eyes. It smiled again. "I like you too." It said, making Arthur blush slightly.

"Thanks." He smiled. "What are you doing here? Why have you been circling our station for weeks? Why don't you just continue where you were headed."

It was silent for a while and then it said, "I saw you." As simple as that. It saw Arthur and decided to stay and give them all something new to observe. Arthur felt strangely touched.

"What's your name?" He continued with his questions. "I'm Arthur."

"I call myself Merlin." It said. "I'm not headed anywhere. Please take me with you. I'm alone." It added and flew closer to Arthur.

"Arthur, be careful. Over." He heard Gwen say. She was the leader of their team and could make him go back any time she wanted, but he was glad she didn't do that yet.

"I am. Over." He replied.

"Your people are worried about you." Merlin told him."They think I want to hurt you."

Arthur pursed his lips, but then nodded. "Yes. They do."

"I don't want to hurt you... Are you going to hurt me?" Merlin asked with a frown on his young face.

Arthur knew the answer. He would never hurt something so unique and beautiful. "I'm not." He said with a smile. "I don't want to hurt you either." Then he pondered for a while and asked something else. "How come you speak our language?"

"I've been watching you." Merlin told him. "Please take me with you. I'm alone here."

"I can't." Arthur told him. "Not yet. We don't know enough about you and-"

Suddenly a little rock hit Arthur's spacesuit and made a hole in it. Arthur's eyes widened and he grabbed his rope.

"Hole in a spacesuit!" He called Gwen and his team. "Get me out of here! Oxygen is escaping into outer space! Over!"

He didn't hear what they replied, but he felt the pull of the rope and he himself tried to move towards the station. And then, suddenly he could see Merlin in front of him. He changed back into the blue jelly and moved towards him, getting into his spacesuit and scaring the shit out of Arthur.

"Arthur!" He could hear Gwen's voice from the comm inside his spacesuit, but instead of hurting him like he promised he wouldn't do, Merlin gently wrapped his body from the inside of the spacesuit and filled the little hole, saving Arthur's life and keeping there enough oxygen for him.

When Arthur finally got inside the station, he was speechless. Once the pressure was stabilized and the room filled with air, Arthur took off his helmet and gasped, not quite believing what he just witnessed. The blue pudding was still wrapped around his body, but as soon as he looked down at it, it started moving away from him, transforming into the boy again.

"Thank you." Arthur told him.

The boy smiled at him and nodded. "Will I talk to you again?" He asked. Suddenly, without the helmet between them, his voice sounded sweet and shy and also curious. It made Arthur smile at him too.

"Hopefully." He told him.

Merlin smiled again and nodded. Then he slowly backed away, walking through the wall as if he was nothing and disappearing into the space again. Arthur was looking at him through the window, already missing his presence and the chance to talk to him. Merlin transformed back into the bluish transparent thing and flew away, just when his team opened the door and got to him, hugging him and asking him if he was alright. But all Arthur could do was nod and keep watching the alien, who was now only a little blue dot among the stars.

That night, Arthur couldn't fall asleep. He left his bed and looked through the window at the stars, noticing that Merlin was still there, circling their station like before. When he noticed him, he stopped though and flew closer to the window. Arthur smiled at him and waved his hand. He wasn't afraid of Merlin disappearing after he walked through the wall. He knew Merlin would stay with them.

Because he saw Arthur and chose to stay. And Arthur would gladly become his friend if it meant they could talk again. Merlin told him he was lost and wasn't heading anywhere. Well, if Gwen allowed it, he could stay with them, couldn't he? And Arthur would be able to find out more about him and tell him more about himself. Because this experience, that excitement he felt when he first heard his voice, that was something he never wanted to lose.

Merlin changed into the dark-haired boy again and waved back, probably not understanding what it meant, but the smile on his face was a good sign. Arthur nodded and went back to bed with a smile of his own.

Maybe he could be looking forward to the next day, for once. Every day on this station was the same and waking up in the morning was something he had to do rather than something he wanted to do because he was excited. This time though, he knew what he'll be doing tomorrow.

And god, how was he looking forward to that.

* * *

 **Well, I hope you liked that at least a bit :D I think I could even expand this into a multichapter fanfic because I already have more ideas for alien!Merlin and astronaut!Arthur and for what might happen next, but I don't think so, it's just too weird for me now. XD (Maybe someday if you really want.)**

 **And btw, in the last month, I've written a Supernatural 12x23 coda so I'll post that once I proofread that and I also wrote another oneshot for this prompt. It's a fusion, which according to fanlore is "a type of fanwork which merges two or more fandoms by incorporating characters from one fandom into the setting of another as if they had always been there" and I think that's a really cool thing to do. And because I was rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra when I wrote that, the fusion will be with Merlin and Arthur living in the world of Avatar! :D**


	10. Prompt Day 11 - Part Two

**I'm back with the second story for the same prompts, as I said this one is a fusion with Avatar, so Merlin is a water bender and Arthur is a fire bender. I watched the show in my native language though, so if you're in the Avatar fandom and find something that doesn't make sense, I apologize. I read the comics in English though so I hope it's fine :)**

 **If you never heard of the Avatar, let me tell you a few things so you can understand this fanfic better. The world of Avatar is divided into four nations - Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Water Tribes (Southern and Northern) and the Air Nomads. Some people, but not all of them, can control the element of their nation, which means they "bend" it. Only the Avatar though is able to bend all four elements and he's supposed to bring peace to the world. The first Avatar was called Wan (he lived 10 000 years ago) and he accepted the power to bend all four elements so he could fight an evil spirit called Vaatu that he'd accidentally set free. There is also a good spirit called Raava, who entered Wan's body to help him fight. Having Raava inside him made him the "Avatar" and after he died, Raava left his body and entered another person - another avatar. The Avatar reincarnates into every nation in order - earth, fire, air, water, earth, fire, air, water and so on and so on. The first show is called Avatar: The Last Airbender and it's about a young boy called Aang who was an airbender and found out he was the Avatar too soon - he was only 12. His teachers told him because there was a war coming, but Aang got scared and ran away, accidentally ending up in a storm above the ocean and trapping himself underwater in an ice bubble for a hundred years. That allowed the fire nation to attack all other nations - kill all airbenders, hunt down almost all waterbenders and try to take over the Earth Kingdom as well. The second show is called The Legend of Korra and is about Korra from the Southern Water Tribe, the next Avatar after Aang.**

 **Alright, I think that's all you need to know. It's a great show, I really recommend it :D**

 **FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD**

Merlin knew he was disobeying his mother when he ran away and went to the river. They'd been travelling for many years and now that they've finally settled down, they were supposed to be safe. Away from the Southern Water Tribe and instead deep in the Earth Kingdom. Merlin liked the forests around and also that the city was quite near them. He had to get used to his surroundings changing fast due to travelling, and now that they've finally had a home, he didn't want to stay there all day.

Instead, he discovered a river that ran through the forest and then along bare cliffs. There was a waterfall at the end, and for some reason, Merlin thought it was the perfect place to train his water-bending. He wasn't good at it because he was the only one in his family with this ability after his grandma died. She was a great water-bender. And that was why he needed to get better because so far all he could do was pour water into cups during lunch.

He ran away into the forest and reached the river, smiling when he put his hands into the water. It was cold and calming. Finally, he was alone and could try to test his abilities. So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

With a slight move of his wrist, he created a wave. That wasn't hard, and he wanted to see what else he could do. So he put his hands out of the water and got into position that he saw on a waterbending scroll in one of the cities they travelled through. He moved his hands just like he remembered from the pictures and managed to raise quite a lot of the water into the air, creating something like a fat snake.

"Yes!" He exclaimed and kept the snake in the air. Then he transformed it into a ball of water so the river could continue flowing without him interrupting it, and with a flick of his fingers, he froze it. The ball fell down and splashed cold water into his face, but Merlin rejoiced.

That was the best water-bending he's ever done and he felt that he could still do better. Suddenly it felt as if he had all this power inside him and he didn't know what else to do with it than to unleash it. He stood up and moved his arms higher, raising the water in the air and grinning. He moved his hands down, expecting the water to do the same, but instead the ground started shaking and he fell on his butt, closing his eyes. When he opened them, there was a hole in the ground in front of him.

"What?!" He quickly tried to move away, looking at the ground and at his own hand. "This can't be true..." he whispered as he stood up and held out his hand again, trying to concentrate. The hole filled with loam and Merlin gasped. He couldn't be bending _two_ elements... "Unless..." His eyes widened and he stepped away, shaking his head.

No, he was just tired. He went back to the river and put his hands into the water. Once again, he tried to move with the water and create a wave, and he succeeded, feeling better and not confused anymore. He was from the Southern Water Tribe. He was one of the last water-benders after the fire nation attacked and tried to hunt them down and imprison them or kill them. He could not bend earth and he was not the Avatar, he was just a normal 15 year old boy who was trying to help his mother and father settle down and live a happy life, away from danger.

He accidentally stopped thinking about the water wave he created and it all dropped on him, throwing him into the river. Because he was a water-bender, there should not be a problem with that, but... Merlin couldn't swim.

"Aaah!" He screamed as the strong current carried him away, quickly leaving the forest and heading to the waterfall. "Help!" He yelled. He couldn't concentrate on bending the water when he couldn't even breathe.

Suddenly, he saw something move on the cliff. Then he heard a splash and in a moment there were two strong arms wrapping around his torso - someone was helping him out of the river! He had water in his eyes, mouth and nose and couldn't really see who his saviour was, but once he was on the ground again, he was determined to get a better look.

The man gently laid him on the ground and let him take a breath. Merlin was coughing water and it took a while, but eventually, he could breathe again without any problem. He sat up, rubbing the water out of his eyes, and felt something hot.

 _Fire_.

His eyes widened and he quickly moved away, staring at the young man in front of him, whose hands were still pointed towards the flames that as if came out of nowhere. "You're... you're a fire-bender!" Merlin gasped. After all those years, when they finally thought they were safe, it seemed that they couldn't even find a home here. If fire nation had made it this far into the Earth Kingdom, then the world was truly lost. Fire Nation would win, and he would get killed because of his water-bending.

"Well, usually when someone like me saves someone like you, they get a _thank you_." The man raised his eyebrows and put his arms behind his back because the fire was already steady between them. "This will warm you up, don't worry. I'm not after you and I don't want to kill you because I saw you bending water." He continued. Then he smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Avatar."

"I'm not the Avatar." Merlin hurriedly explained and moved his legs up to his chin, putting his palms closer to the fire. It felt nice. He was shaking all over after all.

"I saw you bending earth." The man said with a knowing smirk on his face. "And I don't know about you, but water and earth are two elements, not just one. And because I don't think there is any Avatar out there in the world right now, it must be you then."

"No." Merlin said, trembling. The water was really cold. "It was a mistake, I can't bend earth."

The man rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say." He propped himself up on his hands behind his back and smiled at him. "So, what's your name? I'm Arthur."

"Merlin." Merlin said quietly. "Are you from the army?"

"No, I never joined." Arthur sighed. "I hid my abilities and waited until I could escape with my father and sister. Now we live in the city down there." He pointed to the city in the distance. They could see it from the cliff with the waterfall.

Merlin turned back to him with a doubt in his eyes. "So you live among earth-benders?"

Arthur shrugged. "They don't seem to mind. As long as my family and I don't mean trouble, we're fine." He smiled. Then he stood up and held out his hand. "Now, come on. I heard people talk about your house over there, I'll lead you back home."

"Thanks." Merlin took his hand and stood up, brushing off his butt.

"No problem." Arthur killed the fire with a little move of his hand and headed for the forest, together with Merlin by his side.

Maybe Merlin was Avatar, but he didn't want to think about that right now. The only important thing he wanted to tell his family was that they finally found a home they could feel safe in because he already made a friend. And then, maybe, if he really was Avatar and had to travel around the world again and learn to bend all the elements, at least he had a friend who would be waiting for him here or who would go with him to help him. Or teach him how to bend fire himself.

"I'm 15 by the way." Merlin smiled as they reached the forest.

"18." Arthur looked at him with a big smile on his face and shook his hand. "Welcome to the forest of Yu Dao."

* * *

 **I think in this fanfic it hasn't been 100 years since Aang ran away yet, but I guess Aang must have died in the water because Merlin sort of found out he's the Avatar (I just couldn't leave him with only water bending), which would make sense I guess because he's originally a water bender like Korra was. The Avatars in this fanfic would then be Kyoshi (Earth), Roku (Fire), Aang (Air) and Merlin (Water) instead of Korra. (I'm sorry if you're confused right now but I just love the world of Avatar too much.) Yu Dao is (or isn't yet, in this fanfic) a fire nation colony from the first Avatar comic trilogy "The Promise" which takes place immediately and then one year after the end of the show.**

 **Well I hope you enjoyed it, even if you're not familiar with Avatar. :) Thanks for reading!**


	11. Prompt Day 12

**Another short oneshot for Merlin Memory Month, although very very very late.**

 **Prompts were:**

 **Path I -** **queens/princesses/women  
** **Path II -** **blue/red  
** **Path III -** **curious**

 **This time it's about Gwen and Morgana and their friendship early in the show :)**

 **BEST JOB IN CAMELOT**

It was barely ten in the morning and Gwen had already woken Morgana up, done her hair and picked a dress for her to wear, and now they were together at the market, walking from stall to stall, looking at beautiful jewelry or clothes.

Morgana was looking at various necklaces when Gwen noticed the dress. It had a beautiful shade of blue, with short sleeves and a little pattern on the chest. Gwen picked it up and felt the cloth between her fingers. It was comfortably soft, better than her old worn out dress. Gwen wondered what it would look like on her. Morgana looked wonderful in her blue dresses, would Gwen look the same?

"Excuse me," she smiled at the lady who owned the stall. "How much for this dress?"

"15 gold coins." The lady replied.

"Thank you." Gwen smiled and once again looked at the dress. It was too expensive for her, she couldn't afford it. Especially after her father died and she had to live on her own, occasionally working as a blacksmith instead of him. But she didn't have time for being both a blacksmith and lady Morgana's maid. And she certainly didn't have enough money for the dress.

"I'll buy it." Someone suddenly said and when Gwen turned around, she saw Morgana. Her lady was wearing a red dress at the moment and had two blue dresses back in her chambers. Why would she want to buy such a dress, especially when it was not the best quality?

When Morgana smiled at her, Gwen understood and gasped. "No, it's.. it's alright, I don't have to have them, I already have one dress, my lady." She bowed, but Morgana's smile only grew bigger.

"It's okay, Gwen." She said and gave the lady her money. Then she took the dress, thanked her and turned back to Gwen. "Please, Gwen. You're my friend, it's the least I can do."

"My lady, I can't..." Gwen frowned. "It's... it's too expensive, I couldn't possibly-"

"It's a present from me." Morgana smiled as she took Gwen by her elbow and walked away from the stall. "I barely give you anything and you bring me flowers every other day. _Please_. Accept it."

Gwen was silent for a while, and then she touched the dress. It really felt amazingly soft and she really liked the colour. "Alright." She smiled. "But I can't thank you enough for this. Really."

"Don't worry." Morgana smiled. "Your smile is the best payment I could get." When Gwen's smile grew even bigger, Morgana nodded and dragged her away to another stall. "And now let's take a look at these!" She laughed as she pointed at the wristbands.

Even if Gwen couldn't work both as a blacksmith and a maid to lady Morgana, she was glad she had such a wonderful friend in her. She had no doubt she had the best job in Camelot.

* * *

 **I hope you liked it! :) There's only one last very short oneshot to post in this collection :)**


	12. Prompt Day 13

**Hello again :) So this is the last chapter, and it's really just a short random oneshot, but it's definitely something I would have loved to see in the show :)**

 **Prompts:**

 **Path I – character we didn't expect to like that much (That was Leon for me)  
Path II - go magic/go wild/go where you want to!  
Path III - jubilant mood**

 **MAGIC IS A PART OF US**

Leon has been in many battles, but this one was quite different. The first battle he's fought in where magic was openly used, and not only by the enemy. This time they had Merlin on their side. After Merlin returned with Arthur from the battle of Camlann, everyone was happy, and soon Arthur legalized magic again and named Merlin the court sorcerer.

Now he was helping them win this battle with his magic, and Leon couldn't be happier and prouder to have such a wonderful friend.

He took his sword and fought by Arthur's side, taking down the enemies one by one. The clash of swords, the heat of the sun, the cries in the distance and the adrenaline in Leon's veins... that was what battle felt like.

When he looked to his right, he could see Merlin, fighting with his magic and getting closer and closer to the centre of their opponent army. He ran and ran, using every spell he knew to attack, and after an hour of fighting and muscles burning with exhaustion, they finally won.

"For the love of Camelot!" Arthur yelled and Leon repeated it together with their soldiers who were still standing.

Merlin captured the queen and her army stopped fighting. They have won. And almost all thanks to Merlin, their loyal friend with remarkable abilities. Leon was happier than he's ever been. Fighting for Arthur and Merlin was better than fighting for Uther.

Finally, after so many years, magic was a part of their kingdom again.

* * *

 **I hope you liked it! :)**

 **Thanks for reading whatever you decided to read and thanks for all your reviews!**

 **Mischel**


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